1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to paperweights and desk organizers, and more particularly to a pliable paperweight and article holder which can be manually adjusted to assume selective positions for holding various articles.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Paperweights are known in the art which can be placed on papers to hold them down and desk organizers are known for holding pencils, pens, letters, cards, and various other items. Most paperweights are formed as a unitary rigid structure and are incapable of being manually manipulated and adjusted to assume selective positions for engaging various surfaces and for holding various articles.
Oestreich, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 85,490 discloses a bottle formed of rigid material resembling a human hand with all the fingers extending vertically and formed close together as a single unit and has a flat bottom. Oestreich is not a paperweight, is not pliable, does not suggest the structural features of the present invention, and would be incapable of performing the selective utilitarian functions of the present invention.
Chaires, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 252,277 discloses a paperweight and pen holder which is formed of rigid material resembling a human hand with all the fingers close together and formed as a unitary structure with a flat wall at the back end. A drawer or tray having a downwardly curved handle is slidably received in the flat wall. A pin holder extends angularly outward and rearward from the top of the hand. Although the Chaires device is a paperweight, it is not pliable and does not suggest the structural features of the present invention and would be incapable of performing the selective utilitarian functions of the present invention.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a pliable paperweight and article holder having an outer skin of soft flexible material defining an enclosed hollow inner cavity having a central portion and a plurality of hollow generally tubular projections integral therewith extending outwardly from the central portion which are completely filled with a mass of shiftable heavy granular material. The shiftable heavy granular material and outer skin of soft flexible material act in cooperation to provide a pliable structure capable of being manipulated to hold and grip various articles. When placed either horizontally of vertically on a surface, the central portion will spread somewhat to conform generally to the surface upon which it is placed, and each of the tubular projections can be manually manipulated or bent to assume various positions as desired for holding various objects or for gripping various objects, and the tubular projections will remain in the desired holding or gripping position. The tubular projections can also be positioned to extend radially outward from the central portion with their outer ends selectively spaced either closely adjacent or spaced apart in selective positions relative to one another. In a preferred embodiment, the pliable paperweight and article holder is in the shape of a human hand, since the utilitarian features of the structure allow it to carry out some of the gripping and holding functions of an actual hand.